Last week the Doncaster, What’s Next Business Conference 2023 was held at the city’s Legacy Centre, bringing together businesses from across the city to ask, ‘what’s next?’, when it comes to promoting Doncaster as a great place to do business.
Polypipe Building Products was in attendance to listen to speakers such as Mayor Ros Jones; Dan Fell, CEO of Doncaster Chamber of Commerce; Nick Fletcher, MP for Don Valley; Andy Morley, President of Doncaster Chamber & Group Managing Director of ProAktive.
Mayor Ros Jones and Andy Morley - President of Doncaster Chamber & Group Managing Director of ProAktive
Some of the panellists across the three panels included Rebecca Crawforth, Founder of Navy Professional; So Him Fong, Managing Director of King Asia Foods Ltd.; Kate Brindley, Project Director, Arts, Culture & Heritage South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority; Lindsey Glasby, Senior Vice Principal at Doncaster UTC; and our very own Luke Lawson, Automation Engineer at Polypipe Building Products.
The Fighting Force of the North
The main theme that came out of the discussions was that Doncaster needs to be confident in its position as a place to do business to benefit the future generations. Mayor Ros Jones referred to Doncaster as the ‘fighting force of the North’ and that we need to ‘work collectively together’ to show the young people of the city and beyond how great Doncaster is.
Rebecca Crawforth said that the businesses in Doncaster should sponsor the city’s clubs, grounds, and educational institutions to provide resources for future generations to invest in our youth, rather than enticing people from outside the city.
The 'Enterprise City’ panel featuring So Him Fong - Managing Director of King Asia Foods Ltd, Rebecca Crawforth - Founder of Navy Professional Ltd and Jon Duffy - CEO if Clean Power Hydrogen (CPH2)
Another topic that cropped up a few times was the ‘shabby’ nature of the city centre. It was questioned why businesses would choose to be located in Doncaster when it cannot compete with other Yorkshire cities such as Sheffield and Leeds, when it comes to entertaining prospective customers or residents. The main consensus was that money needs to be invested in the city centre not just to make it more aesthetically pleasing, but to boost the footfall of the businesses currently based there.
We need to tell our story better
Doncaster has a strong story to tell, but business leaders in the city are not doing enough to tell it. That’s what came out of the ‘Compelling proposition for investment’ panel when discussing why people should make Doncaster their HQ. With great connectivity for manufactures and our own cultural identity, the businesses of Doncaster should be embracing the resilience of the city to show why this is a great place to do business.
The 'Investment' panel featuring Ian Selby - Head of Sales and Commercial Development at London North Eastern Railway, Kate Brindley - Project Directors, Arts, Culture & Heritage South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority and Tom Grundy - CEO of Hybrid Air Vehicles Ltd.
Ian Selby, Head of Sales and Commercial Development at LNER, said that ‘we need to make Doncaster not just a place you get on the train, but a place you get off as well’. He attributed one of the reasons why Doncaster is such a great place for business as being ‘the Yorkshire welcome’ you get as a visitor to the city.
With the closure of the DSA and the unsuccessful bid for a new hospital, it is easy to focus on the negative elements of Doncaster’s first year as a city, but the overriding statement coming out of the conference was that of resilience, of putting everything behind Team Doncaster, and not letting this define the city, but to be a starting point of another story to add to the history books.
Fit for future generations
With talks of a second UTC being built and ambitions to make Doncaster a ‘university city’, there was lots of discussion around what can be done to provide the future generations of the city with the right skills they need for their future.
The 'Nurturing Talent’ panel featuring Luke Lawson - Automation Engineer at Polypipe Building Products, Lindsey Glasby - Senior Vice Principal at Doncaster UTC, Chris Nicholls - Area Director NE & Y&H for Workforce with the Association of Colleges and Colonel Stephen Padgett OBE - CEO of National Horseracing College
During the ‘Developing Doncaster: a future workforce’ panel, all the panellists agreed that apprenticeships are vital to develop a workforce and develop its own talents. Luke Lawson impressed his fellow panellists by detailing the support and guidance he gained throughout his three-year apprenticeship with Polypipe Building Products, adding:
“The thing that shines for me is getting a qualification at the end of [the apprenticeship]. I had always been interested in engineering and having the opportunity to do something like this with the opportunity to learn and earn was the icing on the cake.”
With 55% of the audience saying that they don’t believe their business invests enough in workforce development, it became clear that to create a workforce fit for future generations, businesses need to join up with education providers to bridge the gap between enthusiasm and practical activity. Academia is not the only way into an industry and Lindsey Glasby, Senior Vice Principal at Doncaster UTC added that the ‘business community needs to contribute to the education’ of Doncaster’s youth.
So, what’s next?
It’s clear that there is a lot to shout about in Doncaster and as a Doncaster based business for over 40-years, Polypipe Building Products is proud to be part of the story of the city. We are dedicated to supporting young people in education throughout the region. Our regular engagement with local educational institutions supports and inspires future generations making crucial career decisions.
With opportunities for apprentices and graduates, working closely with Doncaster schools and colleges, and providing routes to work for SEN students within the city, we are investing in the future of Polypipe Building Products, right here in Doncaster.
For more information on our Apprenticeships, check out our Apprenticeship Brochure or keep an eye on our socials, @PolypipeTrade across all platforms, to find out more about what we’re doing in and around Doncaster.